PRAGUE — Postoperative, low-grade infections in the shoulder and elbow are becoming a growing problem in orthopedic surgeries, a speaker reported today at the 16th Annual EFORT Congress, here.
Robert Hudek, MD, of Rhön-Klinikum AG, Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany, reported postoperative infection rates have increased from 0.4% to 3.8% for the entire spectrum of procedures in shoulder and elbow surgery, according to a press release.
“For shoulder endoprosthesis operations, for instance, the incidence of infections is 1.1% for anatomical and 3.8% for reverse implants. In the treatment of rotator cuff ruptures, the rate is 0.4% to 1.9%,” Hudek said at the meeting, according to the press release. 
Additionally, arthroscopic procedures do not reduce the risk for a low-grade infection, according to Hudek.
In England, hospital costs attributed to the infections have amounted to an average of €1.4 billion, or £1 billion, each year, he said.